The present invention relates to shutters with louvers, and more particularly to decorative louvered shutters for window or door openings.
Decorative louvered shutters have conventionally been made from wood. The louvers are pivotally mounted in a surrounding frame and can be rotated from an open to a closed position. Typically, an external control rod is connected to each of the louvers with staples. By moving the control rod, the louvers are simultaneously moved from an opened to a closed position and vice-versa. One of the problems of wood shutters is that the wood tends to warp. This is particularly troublesome for shutters designed for covering large openings, such as doors, where several shutter panels are connected by hinges to cover the opening. As a result of warping, the shutter panels become misaligned, and present an aesthetically unpleasing appearance.
More recently, decorative shutters have been introduced that are made from wood substitutes, such as plastics or structural foams. These shutters address some of the problems presented by wood shutters, such as warping, but present different issues. Shutter components made from polymer materials are not always as strong and as rigid as wood, and require different tools, fasteners and processes for fabrication into an assembled shutter.